Shines Through The Shadows
by Mizuki Kokoa
Summary: Being a creature that grows and lives off the shadows and darkness isn't easy for the young Kageyama Hikaru, as he aims to become the strongest of his kind despite his contradicting personality. Even though he's got his partner, love interest, five mentors, allies and raw strength to keep him going, his real path is still left unsaid. [Arc 1 - Arc 3]
1. Arrival

**_= Pilot Arc =_**

 **-/ Chapter I: Arrival /-**

* * *

 _ **\- Tuesday Morning -**_

Distant smiles could be seen as he waved goodbye. His small heart crumbled as he watched the black Mercedes Benz drive away back to where it came from, leaving him behind. It was a sad sight indeed but he knew it was for the best. It was the only way he could succeed and make them proud. Although, deep down the young boy honestly felt like he wasn't up for such a task but he put up a bold front, making his most confident face so his dear parents believed that their beloved, sheltered son would become quite the powerful one amongst their species.

And along with his hidden potential – that surfaced every now and then – his parents and other close relatives had a strong feeling that he would excel marvelously (if only he shared that feeling).

Speaking of other close relatives, he would be living with one of them while he was going through his training. This man, who stood quite the tall height, was none other than the boy's father's younger brother, Kageyama Reiji who was by far the most powerful of their kind. Sinister and conniving, Reiji was a force to be reckoned with. He was as dastardly as he was crafty and beings of all kinds feared him because of his power and status.

He was one of the greatest evil masterminds the world had ever seen. Hence the reason, thirteen year old Kageyama Hikaru would be living _and_ training under him. Reiji planned to shape the boy into a real monster and maybe just maybe, Hikaru would take his place some day.

Dark tiny pupils eyed the boy sharply through his shaded eye-wear, as he stood by one of his windows on the first floor. The violet haired male was still standing outside the large mansion by the opened steel gates. He kept his tanned hands behind his back as he continued to watch Hikaru.

The purple haired boy now had a gloomy aura and a slight slouch in his posture. He had longed ceased his waving and just stood silently by the enormous gates. Reiji sighed. He didn't need to read minds to know that his nephew was already missing his parents. Great, and now he was just standing there, staring out the open gates as if the black car would come back and take him home. No way in hell is that happening!

Reiji began to speed walk to the main doors and took a few steps outside. He was finally greeted by the grey skies and bare trees. He was already used to this type weather and scenery so nothing came as a surprise to him. Well, except Hikaru's behavior. If this boy was gonna train under him, he was going to have to learn how to be tough because that won't do at all!

"Hikaru," The white haired man called him sternly. The boy flinched at the mention of his own name and quickly turned to face the elderly man, his big onyx eyes staring at him nervously. After a minute or two, the young teen shook his head frantically before he gulped a response to the other.

"Y-yes Oji-san?"

"Stop staring at nothing and get inside."

"Oh…uh…um…y-yes Oji-san! Right away!"

Hikaru quickly straightened his black outer vest that covered his long sleeved white button down shirt and made his way towards the mansion's main entrance where his uncle stood, quietly closing the silver gates behind the boy. When Hikaru finally climbed the steps that led to the white doors, he halted his movements and gave his older relative a respectful bow.

"Thank you Oji-san for allowing me to live here with you while I'm under your training. I'll do my best to work with your accommodations." The boy delivered his words of appreciation politely.

He soon stood up straight and smiled as he looked up at his uncle. When he was met with a menacing expression (as much as he can tell with the man's shades), his smile dropped and he soon trembled with fear. Reiji's face slowly returned to its previous calm state as he looked down a little more at the teen.

"Hmph. You're that easily scared, boy?" He commented nonchalantly, silently unimpressed by his nephew's reaction to his change in expressions. Hikaru began to whimper slightly at the mention of him getting a fright so easily. His tanned face flushed red with embarrassment as he looked away in utter shame.

"That won't do at all Hikaru,"

Said boy looked back at his uncle only to see the man's white suited back facing him.

"You're going to have to work hard if you want to even gain some kind of status. You simply cannot soil the Kageyama name. Do you understand?"

Hikaru looked down. "Yes, Oji-san."

"Good. From next week you'll start you training…" Reiji stepped inside his home with a confident stride before he stopped and turned his head slightly to the teen. Hikaru instantly looked back at him and did not fail to notice the older man's dark smirk that sent a chill down his spine.

"…I'm gonna turn you into a masterful Kagejin."

And with that the old man continued to walk ahead, leaving the violet haired teen alone to think about what was coming for him. He couldn't help but have a nervous feeling in his chest and trembled with every step he took into the mansion before closing the doors. He stood by them for a while, slowly leaning his head on the wooden surfaces so he could take in deep breaths.

When he did so, he jerked his head back and quickly brushed his forehead with his two fingers. He felt a small hard lump which was he knew better as the crystal or gem that almost every type of Jin had embedded on their forehead. His was a lovely amethyst. They said its purple glow was a rare sight to see. Mostly because most Jin's had other gems like sapphires, rubies, emeralds, sometimes even jaspers but amethysts were definitely a rarity. That was another thing that made him different from the rest of his species, along with his kind, timid nature and soft heart.

He began to wonder if he was even meant to be a Kagejin. He was nothing like the rest of his family or any of the other Kagejin he met in the past. He sighed quietly, removing his hand from the crystal on his forehead. Hikaru turned his entire form so he could face the rest of the mansion that could be seen on that floor. His slim body slid down the doors until he sat quietly, abandoning his bag on his side.

At the sight of mansion first floor, he suddenly felt a rush of nervousness overtake his body once more as he remembered his situation. For the next three years he'd be living with his uncle, the sinister Kagejin, Kageyama Reiji.

"Oi…"

Was truly all the anxious teen could muster at this point, and it definitely wouldn't be the last time either.

* * *

 **Glossary:**

 **Kagejin –** _Shadow Demon –_ A sinister being that has the power over darkness and shadows. They tend to lurk in the shadows or at night and are feared by many.

 **Jin –** Another term for demon in Japanese.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Okay so this is just something I'm trying out because I've realized there are not a lot of Kageyama Hikaru stories out there and I decided, why not? But this isn't only about Hikaru it's also about a certain tealnet that I'm extremely fond of ^^**

 **It's kinda inspired by Kariya and Hikaru's character song** _Houkago Chemistry!_ **I pretty much listened to the song like nine rounds over while I was writing this XD.**

 **Anyway, it'll have a whole lot of other characters as well but for now I'd like to know what you guys think after all this is just something I'm trying out. A review would be really nice too!**

 **Ja ne~!**

 **~Mizuki Kokoa**


	2. Change of Lifestyle

_**= Pilot Arc =**_

– **/ Chapter 2: Change of Lifestyle/–**

* * *

 **–** _**Tuesday Afternoon –**_

Bushes rustled as welcome to the quick movements of a young male. He pounced on trees, locking his sharp clawed hands into the rough bark before leaping onto the ground and sprinting through the eerie woods. Despite naturally moving on two feet, all fours seemed most comfortable for the boy at the moment as he continued his way up ahead.

He halted his steps before scanning the area. Bright golden eyes soon fixed on a small building causing a light sigh. Now standing up straight, the boy adjusted the rucksack on his back and pulled intruding leaves out of his long, wild teal hair. He walked towards the building's small staircase, being ever so cautious as not to fall through the creaking surfaces; he had experienced it once before and it was horrible!

The door pushed open with little effort from his tanned hand as he took a look around the inside. He placed his green backpack down and shuffled off his sandals. As he massaged his feet for a minute or two, he grabbed the bag and sauntered a little further in. He made his way past another door (that was wide open this time) and noticed a silky, green tail swishing calmly out from inside a low cupboard. The tealnet stood quietly, his own tail swishing as he waited to be acknowledged.

But the owner of the green tail continued their rummaging, showing no signs of awareness. The young boy's teal ears twitched and he grow impatient. He made a small noise to clash with the sound of shifting objects and the sweet humming that seemed to blend well with them. The person stops their humming in favor of turning to the thirteen year old at the entrance of the kitchen.

"Oh, Masaki! I didn't realize you were back!" The person, now coming out of the cupboard, revealing their grass green ponytail and olive skin said with a warm smile.

The boy identified as Masaki, pouted and folded his arms. "Uhuh, _sure_!"

The greenet chuckled sheepishly at that. "I'm serious! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel unnoticed," he walked up to him before petting his head. "But you could've just called my name, you know?"

Masaki purred blissfully at the soft sensation on his ears before replying, "Yeah I know Ryuuji-niisan."

Ryuuji chuckled again. "Alright, did you get the ingredients I asked for?"

The tealnet rolled his eyes at the question. "Duh! Of course I did! I wouldn't be here if I didn't! What kind of idiot do you take me for!?"

The older male raised an irritated eyebrow at him and suddenly his bright expression became dark as he frowned. Masaki realized his mistake and shrank under his sharp onyx glare.

"…"

"…"

"I'm sorry…"

"Yes you are."

Ryuuji took the bag out of his hand before checking if everything was there. A minute passed before he turned back to Masaki, the same warm smile he wore previously present on his brightened face. "Good job, kiddo! Lunch'll be ready in half an hour."

"Aw, so long," Masaki pouted. "But I'm really hungry!"

"Haste makes waste, kiddo!" Ryuuji said before ruffling his hair. "I'll try to be quicker but no promises! So go occupy yourself, okay?"

"Okay," the teen replied, still happy at the mention of a meal. His lips lifted into a small smile, allowing an immature fang to stick out from the top. He emerged from the kitchen with a fish finger Ryuuji allowed him to nibble on while he waited for lunch. He walked out of their house and leaped unto the leafy ground. From there, he squatted down and jumped unto the large tree that stood outside their home. He pulled himself up unto a sturdy branch before adjusting his position as he lied down and stared into the grey sky.

Kariya Masaki was a teenage nekomada. He lived somewhere in the Yami Forest along with his adoptive older brother, Midorikawa Ryuuji – an effeminate nekomada who loved quoting proverbs – and spent his days lazing around or practicing his hunting skills. He was still young, so some techniques he hasn't gotten the hang of yet and he wasn't that fast either; not like Ryuuji.

See, being a twenty-four year old nekomada, the greenet had already mastered most abilities along with several other techniques that a mature nekomada should possess. Midorikawa was more than happy to teach Kariya what he was able to learn but because of how troublesome, lazy and childish the tealnet was most of the time, they were a bit behind. And if you add his sarcastic comments and sushi indulgence, the boy was almost unbearable.

But according to a witch – who had requested Ryuuji to look after the boy – Masaki had incredible strength as a nekomada that he was unaware of but it was stabilized by his parents in fear of him growing stronger than them before they abandoned him in the alleys of The City of Unknown where he was found.

Thinking back, Masaki remembered how lonely and scared he was. He recalled how cold he was and how people saw him but did nothing. He lost trust for people and nearly starved to death. At least now he had someone and as much as he loved Ryuuji for taking him in and treating him like an otouto, he still felt a pain of sadness in his chest at why his parents would leave him they way they did.

He still couldn't understand how and why they felt it was okay, under any circumstance to abandon their only child and son. As he blinked away a tear, he heard his name being called. His nose was greeted by an intoxicating aroma when he reentered the house and scurried to the kitchen. A plate was placed in front of him as he took a seat at the dining table.

"Eat up!" Ryuuji chimed before taking his seat too.

Masaki smiled and slurred his thanks. He sank his canines into the delicious, well-cooked fish (which was seventy-five percent of their diet) and allowed himself to savor the meal. Though despite his best efforts, he still finished quicker than he wanted too and placed his plate in the sink.

Ryuuji finished his food when there was a knock on the door. Masaki rushed towards it and stopped to peek through the eyehole they had. When his golden eyes spotted a tall man, with white hair in a low ponytail, wearing shaded glasses, he didn't need to guess who he was and he shrieked in fright.

"What is it?" Ryuuji rushed over to the younger nekomada. Masaki gulped before responding.

"I-i-it's h-him!" He stuttered. "T-the K-kagejin of all K-kagejin!"

Instead of speaking back to the boy, Ryuuji walked to the door and opened it slowly and indeed the most powerful Kagejin was present there, standing with his hands behind his back, staring down at him condescendingly. Ryuuji wasn't scared by the presence of Kageyama Reiji and instead smiled slightly at the demon.

"Hmm. So if you're then that's means that you're apprentice has arrived as well which means you're here for him." The greenet said, not noticing the confused expression on his younger brother's face.

"Indeed. Is he ready then?" Reiji asked.

"He sure is,"

"He doesn't _look_ ready,"

"Oh, he just wasn't expecting you yet,"

"Really? I thought you informed him,"

"Nope but I might as well tell him now."

The statement caught the tealnet's attention.

"Wait! Ryuuji-niisan, what's going on? Why is _the_ Kageyama Reiji at our door? And what were you supposed to tell me about?" Masaki was seriously confused. One of the most terrifying criminal masterminds was standing at the doorstep and his aniki speaking to him like he was the mailman. He just hoped the greenet would explain something to him before he fainted.

"It's simple Masaki. You're going to be staying with Kageyama-san and while you're doing _that_ , you're going to be training _and_ you're going to be his nephew's partner too!" Ryuuji explained with a smirk.

Masaki could only hang his mouth open before screaming:

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

* * *

 **Glossary:**

 **Nekomada –** _Cat Yokai_ – These yokai have the figure of a human but features of a feline along with it habits and eating preferences. They are very skilled creatures and rely on their claws in battle.

 **Aniki –** Big brother

 **Otouto –** Younger brother

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So what did you guys think? I kinda rushed it in the end, sorry 'bout that! I didn't want to reveal too much or leave out too little. If you guys are wondering: "Where's Hiroto or Tatsuya or whatever his face is?"**

 **Yeah, he's not coming in yet XD**

 **Leave a review!**

 **~Mizuki Kokoa**


	3. Meeting

**A/N:**

 **I don't know why the heck I'm updating this thing so quickly XD. Anyway, please enjoy and review!**

 **Disclaimer:** **Almost forgot this! I don't own Inazuma Eleven GO!**

* * *

 ** _= Pilot Arc =_**

– **/ Chapter 3: Meeting /–**

* * *

– _**Wednesday Morning –**_

" _Kageyama-kun, what are you doing?"_

" _H-hiding…"_

" _Why?"_

" _B-because…because I'm scared…"_

" _Really?"_

" _Hn…"_

" _Well don't be! Being scared is boring and lame! I totally rather be brave and bold than be lame and scared!"_

" _But you're already that,"_

" _Exactly and I'm awesome! And I want you to be awesome too, I guess. So stop being a scaredy-cat already!"_

"…"

"…"

"… _Okay."_

A dim light snuck its way through the dark curtains and unto Hikaru's fair face. His black eyes fluttered open at the contact, causing him to squint and rub his them in discomfort. He turned and lied on his back for a moment as he took in the serenity in of the room. Minutes passed, before the fog in the violet haired teen's mind cleared.

He shot up on his king-sized bed before looking around the room. It was very spacious with a large wardrobe, a door to the bathroom, a flat-screen TV and other bedroom essentials. There, at the corner of his wardrobe was his luggage that he hadn't unpacked yet. He just brought his out pyjamas and that was all.

Memories began to flood back into his mind and he suddenly felt distressed. No longer was he in the warm comfort of his parents and his home. No longer was he being sheltered or looked after with TLC. No, now he was going to be living _and_ training under the most sinister and conniving Kagejin, the world has ever seen – his uncle, Kageyama Reiji who he would be staying with for the next three years.

He couldn't believe what he got himself into or why he even agreed to this. Why would he agree to something like training to become a real Kagejin? What was wrong with the way he already lived his life?

His eyes widened when familiar words echoed in his head.

" _Being scared is boring and lame! I totally rather be brave and bold than be lame and scared!"_

"Right," Hikaru said clenching his fists on his lap. "I chose this. I decided to become stronger. I don't wanna be lame or afraid. I wanna be confident and brave!" As he said this, his eyes sparked with determination but that vanished as quickly as it came and his nervousness returned.

"What am I saying?" He buried his face in his hands. "I can't do this! I'm a goner!" He dropped his hands unto the purple sheets and let out a whiny sigh. How was he going to do this? He lacked so many aspects a Kagejin should have, there was no way he could even come close to reaching his parents expectations, let alone his uncle's. He swore if it wasn't for his hidden potential, he wondered if anyone would even take interest in him.

Suddenly there was a shift in his bed. Hikaru froze as his eyes slowly wondered to his left side. When he saw a body-shaped lump under the blankets, his head slowly followed his eyes as they looked down. Hikaru stared at it for a few moments until he heard muffled sound that was very similar to "Nyan". Still staring at the form, he allowed a gulp before reaching his hand for the top of the purple covers.

With the small courage he could muster, Hikaru yanked the blanket off the form, pulling it to the right side of the bed. He now stared at what or rather _who_ was under his sheets; a boy who looked around his age with tanned skin like his, except darker. He had long, wildly kept hair that was teal and feline ears and a tail that were the same color. He wore a black t-shirt and grey shorts as he rested his head unto his hands, exactly like a cat would.

The violet haired boy did not know how long he had been staring but it seems the sleeping male had noticed and began to lift his eyelids revealing his golden eyes that started adjusting to the light as well. They curiously looked up and met with surprised onyx eyes. They both blinked twice and eventually the teal haired boy spoke.

"Hey," he said before gesturing to the blanket, Hikaru turning his head to it as he did. "Do you mind passing that back? I'm kinda cold, nya."

Hikaru looked at the other teen then back at the purple blanket, and then back at him again. He thought about how there was someone in his bed that he had never met before. How did he get inside? What was his objective? Why did it have to be his room and not his uncle's where he could be easily dealt with? The young Kagejin allowed himself to be engulfed by fear as he could only do one thing.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He screamed and ran out of his room. Okay, so that's two things but that's clearly not the point. The teal haired teen stared out the open door with a raised eyebrow and bewildered look.

"'Happy to have a partner' my ass," He mumbled as he jumped off the bed and walked out of the room.

One storey under, Hikaru was historic! He was waving his arms frantically around while babbling and stuttering to his uncle (who he bumped into while he was running) about a mysterious boy he had found in his bed. Reiji stared down at the boy, trying to catch everything he was saying. Eventually he had heard enough to understand the boy problem and sighed.

"Hikaru," He said sternly. The boy instantly silenced himself and looked up at the older male with pleading eyes.

"Gomenasai, Oji-san," Hikaru looked to the side wearily but quickly regained his fearful tone. "But I don't know who that strange boy is and why he was in my bed and-"

"That boy," He began steadily watching Hikaru calm down again before continuing. "That boy, just like you, is going to be training under me and he was in your bed because now, just like you, he is a part of this household."

Hikaru stared at him for a moment with a confused expression before he spoke. "Wait. What?"

As if on cue, the teal haired 'stranger' came in from behind Hikaru with his arms crossed and his tail swishing freely. Reiji walked closer to the younger Kageyama, causing him to turn and face him.

"Hikaru, this is Kariya Masaki, he is a nekomada and from this day forth, you two will be training together…" He paused before turning around and walking off in other direction. "…As partners."

Hikaru only needed a moment to process what his uncle told him.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

Masaki felt a sense of déjàvu.

* * *

Later that morning, Hikaru and Masaki had bathed and gotten dressed. They were now sitting across from each other at the long dining table in the dining room on the first floor, which was currently silent. Neither had spoken to each other since the early morning. Hikaru was still a little bewildered at the fact that he was not sleeping alone in his bed the night before and Masaki found the violet haired teen's reaction quite unnecessary and was slightly offended by his behavior.

He had only agreed to this because he really had no choice. His aniki, Ryuuji had decided this behind his back and only just recently told him the day before. The greenet said he'd visit him when he could and that he should try his best to get along with Reiji's nephew. Masaki had no idea how that was going to happen now since the other boy hadn't talked to him at all, even after his uncle introduced him. He let out an inaudible sigh and went back to his meal. He just wanted to finish breakfast and leave; he didn't feel like Hikaru wanted him around.

Hikaru himself was thinking the same think and was reading to leave as soon as he was done with his breakfast. He honestly didn't know how his uncle expected him to get along with someone who had absolutely freaked him out! Don't get him wrong, clearly Reiji had asked Masaki to sleep in his bed but that doesn't change the fact that Hikaru didn't know who he was. He still felt slightly guilty for not speaking to him at all. He wondered how he felt.

The teenage Kagejin glanced up from his scrambled eggs and bacon and caught the other teen doing the same thing. Masaki quickly looked away and pretended to be interested in the interior design of the room. Hikaru did the same except he just went back to playing with his eggs. The long awkward silence continued between the two boys after that.

Eventually, Masaki dropped his fork and broke the silence with a hoarse cough.

"Look – uh, Hikaru-kun, was it?" Kariya cleared his throat when he saw he had said boy's attention. "About this morning…"

Hikaru looked away.

"…I'm sorry if I, well – you know, freaked you out or anything. Kageyama-san said I should just sleep in your bed so I did." Masaki said honestly before scratching the back of his head. "I didn't mean to scare you, I – ugh! Can we just forget it ever happen and start afresh?"

The purpled haired boy stared at the tealnet longingly before he eventually smiled.

"Yeah. I did kinda overreact a little. I mean, it wasn't like you were trying to scare or freak me out, so I'm sorry too!" Hikaru said sheepishly. "So let's start over Kariya-kun."

"Masaki's fine," The tealnet allowed a smirk on his face as he said that.

Hikaru smiled again. "Right, let's start over _Masaki_ -kun!"

Hikaru and Masaki soon engaged in conversation and talked for a while before taking their plates to the kitchen. Masaki told the other a bit about himself and his home in the Yami Forest. Hikaru did the same and spoke about his home in Kagezora City. The two talked and laughed for almost the entire day and ended up falling asleep together on _their_ bed but Hikaru made a mental not to request another bed for Masaki to sleep on.

From there onward, the two thirteen year olds were okay with calling each other partners, maybe even friends too. Though little did they know that the long road they'd be taking together wasn't as easy as it was becoming friends.

* * *

"Rumors have it that ol' Kageyama Reiji's got himself some trainees," a dark skinned male with black hair and goggles on his head said to no one in particular.

Another black haired male with a plaster over his nose and a bulky figure gained a look of surprise. "Really? What does he plan to do with them?"

"Train them obviously." Another teen with well-groomed maroon hair rolled his eyes. "The real question is what training will it be?"

"Not sure," A tall male with black hair shaved everywhere but its top said. "But we have to keep our guard up. You never know what could happen with that guy."

"Exactly," A teen with curly brown hair walked into the poorly lit room. He looked around at the four boys that just spoke and everyone else in the room. "That's why I've sent _him_ to go and investigate."

"What? So soon?" A red haired slender boy with large round glasses asked anxiously. "Are you sure, Shindou-kun?"

"Yes I'm sure Hayami," Shindou said as he walked closer to the group of boys. "Sending him in was the best chose. He's the best at concealing himself after all." The brunet smirked.

"If you say so, you're the boss," The black haired teen with goggles on his head shrugged. "Let's just hope he gets what we need without getting caught."

"Don't worry," Shindou spoke again. "He'll be just fine. He knows what he has to do."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I hope you guys could tell who was who in the end. I also hope you enjoyed. Yeah, so Hikaru and Kariya finally met and not in the best way ever I guess but meh. Who do you think is this mysterious spy Shindou has sent? What do you think their objective is? How do you think Hikaru and Masaki will be trained?**

 **You can guess but in the end ya gotta find out!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **~Mizuki Kokoa**


	4. Used to Each Other

**A/N:**

 **Hmmm…should I even say anything? How about, there's gonna be some more Hikaru and Kariya bonding in this chapter. They only begin their training in Chapter 6 and then that'll last several chapters for obvious reasons. Anyway, let's get to the story.**

 **Again just another filler chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _= Pilot Arc =_**

– **/ Chapter 4: Used To Each Other /–**

* * *

– _**Friday Afternoon –**_

The sound of shattering glass reverberated in the Kitchen. Kariya winced at the disturbance and quickly covered his ears as soon as the plate made contact with the tiled ground. He shot an irritated glare at Hikaru as the kagejin bowed continuously and kept apologizing for his accident. The tealnet sighed before turning back to the sink of dishes, water and soap.

They were washing dishes.

Reiji had asked the both of them to do dishes as it would teach them responsibility. Masaki was used to dishwashing seeing as Ryuuji always made him do his own share of chores at home and he's learnt not to complain as that usually led to cruel and unusual punishment. As for Hikaru, he was very confused. He had never done dishes before and the tealnet now knew why.

The boy was clumsier than a circus clown! He couldn't hold a plate for seven seconds without tripping over his own feet somehow and breaking not only that plate but several others with it. His parents probably never even let him close to their kitchen.

Now he was furiously sweeping his mess and packing it into the trash bin that seemed to be some kind of dimensional portal. Masaki recalled himself nearly getting sucked in when he was throwing away his chocolate bar wrapper. He cringed at the memory and was thankful to Hikaru who had pulled him out the last second. Turns out, the other teen was quite strong for his stature as he only used one hand to yank him out with his tail.

Masaki's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Hikaru whining. He turned to see the violet haired male sitting in the corner by the fridge with a depressed aura.

"Uh…Hikaru-kun? What're you doing?" Masaki asked. Hikaru turned his head slightly and the tealnet was finally able to see his distressed expression.

"Oji-san," Hikaru muttered anxiously. "When he comes back, he's gonna kill me…"

Masaki chuckled nervously and sweatdropped. "I'm sure he won't notice that," He cleared his throat, "half the dishes are gone…"

"Of course he'll notice!" The Kagejin screamed before burying his face back into his knees. "I'm hopeless…"

The other teen sighed. "You really are." He then paused before walking up to him and kneeling next to him. "But you know what?"

"What?" Hikaru mumbled without looking up at the other.

"We're partners now," Masaki smirked before nudging Hikaru's shoulder, "so we take the blame together!" Hikaru finally looked up at the tealnet with awe in his black eyes. He smiled dryly, feeling a little better about the situation.

"I still think you're hopeless though," Hikaru deflated at the tealnet's words. "But I'll get used to you and your hopelessness."

Hikaru lit up again and the two returned to the remaining dishes. This time Masaki was able to keep a close eye on Hikaru, making sure he didn't break any more bowls or anything and when they were finally done, they left the kitchen and emerged into the living room where they spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around and chatting about trivial things.

Then their topic changed to the training they would be under.

"I wonder what kind of training your uncle has in store for us." Masaki said while lying upside down the single couch of the room. Hikaru, who was on the sofa with his hands on his torso, began to wonder himself.

"I'm not sure," Hikaru pondered. "Oji-san has trained a _lot_ of people but he always trained them differently, usually according to what he predicted they'd become."

"Really?" Masaki raised an eyebrow. "I wonder what I'm gonna become then, maybe a super powerful nekomada or maybe something else? Hey Hikaru-kun, what're do you think you'll become?"

Hikaru stared at the ceiling until he heard Masaki call him again. "Yo Hikaru!"

"A-ah yes, Masaki?" The violet haired male turned to look at him. Masaki let out an irritated sigh.

"Listen, will ya? I asked 'what you think you'd become?'" Masaki repeated. Hikaru stared at him for a moment before looking the other way.

His thoughts were racing in his mind. What would he become? What would his path be? With the hidden power that he has inside him, how would he use it? Would he become a criminal like his uncle? He soon remembered the older Kageyama's words on the day he arrived.

"… _I'm gonna turn you into a masterful Kagejin."_

That didn't really mean he'd be like him right? He'd just be very powerful. But still, Hikaru couldn't help but wonder anxiously what would happen in the future or what his evil uncle had planned for him. He eventually sighed.

"You know Masaki-kun?" Hikaru began as he sat up properly on the large black sofa. "I think that we should just wait and see what'll happen. Something tells me that there's a lot ahead!"

He then smiled at his nekomada companion. Masaki looked at him for a moment and decided to smile back. "Okay I guess." He was about to drift off to sleep when they heard the front door open. Masaki immediately fell on his head and Hikaru jumped off the couch in fright. The both of them glanced at each other nervously before muttering, "He's back!"

"Hikaru, Kariya." Reiji's stern voice called for them. They flinched before quickly scurrying to the main entrance as not to keep the older Kagejin waiting. As they came in, the older man looked down at the two boys with his usual blank expression.

"Okaeri, Oji-san!" Hikaru greeted with a bow and hit Kariya on the head, prompting him to bow too. "Ow…I mean, Okaeri Kageyama-san!"

"Yes, have you two done what I asked?"

"Oh we did something–OW!" Kariya winced and shot a glare to Hikaru. The other boy shook his head nervously.

Reiji raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"We did the dishes! We just had some issues! That's all!" Hikaru said scratching the back of his head.

"Such as?"

"Wait…you wanna know?"

"Am I not supposed to know?"

"No! I mean–yes! Wait–that's not what I–Ugh…kiii!" Hikaru groaned at not knowing what to say. Kariya looked at his friend wearily and decided there was only one thing to do then.

"Kageyama-san," Reiji looked away from his anxious nephew to listen to what the teenage nekomada had to say. "The truth is…"

He paused as he looked at Hikaru and then turned back Reiji with a look of determination. He inhaled before speaking.

"The truth is Hikaru kept breaking plates!" Hikaru looked at the other male in shock but Kariya didn't stop there. "I mean, he couldn't hold a freaking plate for five seconds without tripping somehow! How do you even trip over your own feet anyway? He's not even wearing shoelaces!" he gestured to Hikaru's black boots. "He's absolutely HOPELESS when it comes to dishes! All he can do is sweep his messes! I, on the other hand am fantastic at dishwashing," he proclaims proudly but switches back to Hikaru. "But you won't know because he broke most of the plates that I so diligently washed!"

At this point Hikaru was just staring at the tealnet with his mouth agape. He couldn't believe this guy! He said he'll take the blame with him and before his uncle could even accuse them of anything, he exposed him! Hikaru had never been so irritated in his life. His closed his mouth and puffed his cheeks. He trusted Masaki and he just threw him under the bus like he was nothing. He clenched his fists as he felt something boil inside him.

Reiji turned to him. "Hikaru, is this true?"

Hikaru looked up at his uncle. "Yes Oji-san. Everything Masaki-kun said is true," He glanced at Masaki, irritation flaring in his dark eyes. "Well, not everything," Masaki looked away at that. The violet haired boy looked back at his uncle and bowed. "I'll accept any punishment you have for me Oji-san."

Kageyama stared at his nephew and then at Masaki who was still looking the other direction.

"Yes, I do want you to do something," He looked back at Masaki. "Both of you," Masaki quickly turned his head back to the older male.

"I want you two clean the attic. It's quite a mess so you'll have to work together. When you've completed the task come call me, I'll see if it's enough. Understand?"

"Yes, Oji-san," Hikaru replied lowly. At the same time Masaki replied, "Yes, Kageyama-san."

"Good. Follow me."

And with that Kageyama began to walk towards the stairs, with the two teens following him in silence.

* * *

When they finally arrived, he had instructed them to not break anything that looked valuable (specifically Hikaru) and gave them all the cleaning materials they needed (including the dimensional portal trash bin). The attic was quite large and extremely messy, with giant cobwebs and dust in every inch of the room. Once Reiji left, the two got to work but didn't speak to each other once. On the right, Hikaru began dusting the ceiling and curtains while on the left Masaki was moving boxes and arranging them the best he could.

As he did this, he thought back to when they were all downstairs after he had told Kageyama about Hikaru's ineptness in the Kitchen and the look in the violet haired boy's eyes. They were sad before turning into a look of irritation. Masaki had known Hikaru for only three days and he had never seen the boy agitated before. He would either be happy, nervous, scared or confused but never irritated. This made Masaki think about his new lifestyle.

To be honest, he didn't like the idea of being someone's partner and always wanting to work alone. And even after meeting Hikaru, the nephew of the baddass Kageyama Reiji, he was very unimpressed at how the younger Kagejin was nothing like his uncle. Constantly whining and getting nervous, was extremely clumsy and a newbie at almost everything. Kariya couldn't understand why he would be partnered with someone who would probably be hopeless in everything he'd ever do.

But yet he still took the punishment, not knowing what it was, how cruel it would be, not even where it would be done. Masaki could tell that Hikaru got scared from a lot of things but yet when he knew he was going to face punishment, he accepted it with no worries at all. The tealnet had to admit he admired the other for that and envied him for being able to take punishment like a man. If it was himself, he would've tried to run or would be trying to convince the person otherwise.

The tealnet was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard Hikaru coughing from being exposed to too much dust. He watched as he quickly ceased his coughing fit and carried on with his work only to start coughing again. Though, Masaki didn't need to squint through the dust cloud to see the determination in his eyes, even if there was still a hint of irritation in them too.

Masaki remembered the moment after he had ratted Hikaru out.

 _Reiji turned to him. "Hikaru, is this true?"_

 _Hikaru looked up at his uncle. "Yes Oji-san. Everything Masaki-kun said is true," He glanced at Masaki, irritation flaring in his dark eyes. "Well, not everything,"_

Masaki knew that Hikaru was talking about what he had told him earlier.

" _We're partners now," Masaki smirked before nudging Hikaru's shoulder, "so we take the blame together!" Hikaru finally looked up at the tealnet with awe in his black eyes. He smiled dryly, feeling a little better about the situation._

He felt a pain of guilt sting his chest and looked down at one of the boxes in his hands in shame. He didn't feel bad about it earlier when he had decided he would expose everything to Hikaru's uncle when he returned home but after doing it he didn't feel the triumph he thought he'd feel not only because he still got punished but also because of how he made Hikaru feel.

The fact that the violet haired Kagejin hadn't spoken to him for the last thirty minutes they've been cleaning meant that he really was upset. He looked back at Hikaru again. He had trusted him so quickly; he didn't have any doubts about Masaki like he did for him. He was even looking forward to training with him. That did it! He couldn't take it anymore! The guilt was weighing him down. He placed down the box he was holding before taking slow steps towards the other in the room.

When he was only a few feet away from him, the teal haired nekomada spoke.

"Hikaru-kun?"

No response.

He watched Hikaru, as he began opening the curtains to let in a bit of light. He proceeded to opening the windows and a small gust of wind flew inside the attic. He stood and stared out the window into the distance. Masaki continued speaking.

"Hikaru-kun, listen about earlier…I," He paused before taking a deep breath. "I didn't realize that you really trusted me so much. I mean, obviously since were partners now but…Listen I know I shouldn't have thrown you under the bus like that! It was wrong of me; I shouldn't have made you believe I had your back when I didn't and well…" He sighed and started walking a little closer, "What I'm trying to say is that I'm–" he was interrupted when his foot broke through a loose plank and got stuck.

He halted and looked down at his foot and tried to pull it out, only for his ears to perk up at a creaking sound. As he turned to look up, a larger plank of wood that supported the ceiling snapped off from where it was and descended toward him. The tealnet could only gasp and close his eyes, forgetting that he could call for help, that he could use his feline claws, as he was engulfed by fear. Just when he expected to be flattened, he opened his eyes slowly and they widened at what they saw. He ignored the small pieces of the ceiling trickling down on his hair and stared at the large plank of wood that was being kept in the air but what really shocked him was what or rather _who_ was keeping it there.

The violet haired male had his arms outstretched above him in order to carry the enormous weight of the wooden post. His dark eyes kept a close eye on it before drifting down to Masaki. Their eyes met before Hikaru placed the large supporting post down. To say that Kariya was shocked was an understatement. That wooded plank had to be about a ton, seeing how large the attic was and Hikaru carried it over his head with little to no effort at all.

The tealnet was truly in awe of the other boy. He even forgot that his foot was still stuck. He didn't care to think how his foot getting stuck could even cause the plank to almost fall on him. The attic must have been really old too. They continued to stare at each other before – to Masaki's surprise – Hikaru spoke.

"Masaki-kun, are you okay?" He asked softly, concern in his voice and eyes. The tealnet stared at the violet haired male for a long time before responding, "Yeah," He bit his lip afterwards. "Hikaru-kun, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done what I said! I mean said what I did! I mean–ugh! I'm just really sorry!"

Hikaru looked down at him warmly, no irritation in his expression at all. He knelt down beside Masaki and reached his hand out over the tealnet's foot. His hand was then enveloped in a black and purple energy. Masaki watched as the shadow of his stuck foot became visible again and somehow pulled his foot out of the hole. He rubbed his foot before Hikaru helped him stand. Masaki had never seen the other use his Shadow Magic before.

Hikaru smiled warmly at him. "Masaki-kun?"

Said tealnet brought his attention back to the kagejin. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry too,"

"Huh? For what?"

"If I hadn't been so clumsy this morning, then none of this would have happened and you wouldn't have told Oji-san. Not to mention, we wouldn't be stuck cleaning the attic and that wooden post wouldn't have nearly fell on you!" He paused to look him in the eye. "I truly am sorry."

Kariya couldn't believe Hikaru had blamed himself for every single mishap that day. He truly wasn't like any other Kagejin he'd ever met. He was unique; kindhearted, sweet and forgiving and for some reason it made the tealnet smile.

"You know what Hikaru?"

"Hmm, what?"

"I think I could get used to you."

Hikaru blinked before smiling himself. "Yeah, I think I could get used to you too Masaki-kun!"

"What do you say? Wanna work together and get this over and done with already?" Masaki grinned. Hikaru grinned back.

"Yeah!" They quickly got to work. It's true that they didn't know the other that well right now but as the days passed by they would eventually get used to each other. From the door, Kageyama smiled dryly as he watched the both of them continue cleaning the attic together.

"Yes, eventually they'll get used to each other."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hikaru and Kariya are definitely a lot closer now. Wow, this is the longest chapter I've written so far.**

 **So what did you guys think? Tell me your thoughts in a review and as well as any spelling or grammatical errors! Seriously, it wouldn't hurt to leave a review, even if it's just "Hi!" so I can know how I'm doing in the story.**

 **Also thanks to those who followed my story, I really appreciate it. I'd appreciate your thoughts and maybe just a reason to why this story interested you.**

 **Ja ne!**

 **~Mizuki Kokoa**


	5. Let's Venture To the Yami Forest!

**A/N:**

 **This is the final filler chapter (for now) people! Hikaru and Kariya have returned! This one is also more humor than fluff with a little bit of action. Anyway let's proceed to the chapter shall we~! Sorry I took so long!**

 **Reviews:**

 _ **Hey! (Guest):**_ **Oh I'm so glad there weren't any spelling or grammatical errors because I had read through that chapter like seven times before I posted it and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And yes, Tenma will appear in the story~! No spoilers though!**

 _ **Bitway:**_ **OMG! I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! Yes there are a lot of things that will be revealed in the future and you may or not be right about a certain character! Just sit back and enjoy the story!**

 _ **SaltyCandy:**_ **Nice to know that I've captured your attention with this story! Keep reading Salty-san!**

 **Also there's strong language toward the end of this chapter. Please enjoy and make sure to follow, favorite and review the story!**

* * *

 _ **= Pilot Arc =**_

– **/ Chapter 5: Let's** **Venture to the Yami Forest! /–**

* * *

– _**Sunday Evening**_ **–**

"Masaki-kun?"

"Yes Hikaru-kun?"

"Are we lost?"

" _No_ …"

.

.

.

"…Okay, yeah were lost…"

" _Ugh kii_ …"

* * *

– _**Three Hours Earlier**_ **–**

The young partners were having a splendid dinner. Masaki indulged in a plate of traditional sushi while Hikaru ate a nice potato salad. It was obvious they both enjoyed their meals greatly. As they ate, Kariya spoke about a revelation he just had.

"Did you know that there are live-in servants here?" He asked in disbelief, as he chucked another piece of fish into his mouth. "Cuz _I_ sure didn't!"

"Well, what did you expect?" Hikaru paused to chew his food before swallowing. "This place is huge and Oji-san is extremely wealthy." He then took a sip out of his orange juice.

"If he's extremely wealthy then why the hell did I have to share a freakin' bed with you for an entire freakin' chapter?"

"Don't ask me; ask Oji-san…" Hikaru said, "…or Writer-san."

Masaki drank his milk before narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Well anyway…what's up with you Kageyamas? Why're you guys so damn rich anyway?"

Hikaru thought for a moment but found he couldn't think of a real answer. In his uncle's case, Reiji was one of most powerful criminal masterminds in the entire world so he obviously got his money out of that. But as for his parents, his father already lived a life of luxury from a young age and currently, he worked as a business man.

The violet haired teen realized that he was thinking too much about the whole thing and felt that he was a bit too young to fully understand the Kageyama's wealth at this point. So he just gave a shrug as his answer before returning to his salad.

"Well whatever," The tealnet shrugged himself. As he looked towards the large window beside them, he could make out a collection of trees not too far away from the mansion. It was definitely the Yami Forest, where he lived with his adoptive older brother Midorikawa Ryuuji. He remembered how the greenet always told him to never leave the house at night as that was when the 'gang' yokai roamed around.

Ryuuji was more than capable of taking care of himself out there but Masaki was a different story. The tealnet had a habit of irritating people to the extent that they despised him and Masaki was well known for being extremely two-faced when he was around new people. He did the same to Hikaru but unlike others, he actually felt guilty for lying to the purple haired teen.

After staring at the forest for a while he looked back at Hikaru who had just finished eating and quickly turned back to his plate of remaining sushi. A light bulb suddenly appeared over his head and his lips curled up into a wide smirk. He stuffed his mouth with what was left and took a big gulp of milk before swallowing everything at once.

He followed Hikaru into the kitchen before snatching his plate and dumping both of theirs into the sink. Hikaru stared at Masaki with confusion.

"What's with you? Excited for bed?" Hikaru wondered with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah right," Masaki scoffed with an eye roll. "We're totally not going to bed!"

"Huh? Why's that?" Hikaru asked, even more confused. "Oji-san said as soon as we're done with our dinner we should head to bed since we'll be starting our training tomorrow!"

"Hikaru-kun, are you always gonna listen to Kageyama-san?" Masaki asked the other.

Hikaru looked at him like he asked the stupidest question ever. "Of course I am! I don't wanna disobey him and get in trouble! As long as _I'm_ living here I have to follow his rules and as long as _you're_ living here, you have to do the same!" He argued placing his hands on his hips.

Kariya sighed when he saw Hikaru's disapproving face. This was going to be harder than he thought. He suddenly had another idea.

"Alright, alright," He began holding his hands up in defense. "How about we do this; Rock-Paper-Scissor, best two outta three, hmm?"

Hikaru looked at him hesitantly but for some reason he agreed. "Okay but if I win we'll go straight to bed right?"

"Of course!" Masaki cheered before extending his hand and smirking. "Let's do this!"

* * *

"Ne, I can't believe you beat me…" Hikaru whined as they walked outside. Since the gate was locked, the only way to get out was to climb over them which Masaki found easy but Hikaru struggled quite a bit. If he had better control of his powers he could have just fazed through a shadow and come out on the other side.

" _I_ can," Masaki smirked triumphantly at his quick victory. He figured the purple haired male wasn't as used to the game as he was.

"I guess it can't be helped," Hikaru sighed before looking at the night sky. "So you never told me where we were going, Masaki-kun."

"Oh yeah," He said before stopping. Hikaru stopped with him waiting for an answer. "Were going to…" He paused as he turned his head. Hikaru followed his actions and his eyes widened at the vast eerie woods before him. "…the _Yami Forest_!"

"Ehhhhh?" Hikaru shrieked. "W-w-why a-are we g-going in _there_?"

Masaki smirked widely. " _Duh_! To prove to Ol' Kageyama that we've got the stuff!"

"The…stuff…?" Hikaru blinked and tilted his head, a large question mark hovering over him.

"Yup! And also because it's fun ta break rules, nya!" He gave a toothy grin, revealing his small fangs causing Hikaru to sweatdropped at the tealnet's juvenile personality.

"Masaki-kun, you're a really bad influence on me…" Hikaru sighed. "And I really got a bad feeling about this. I don't think it's safe to be wondering around the Yami Forest at night."

"Really?" Masaki gave him a thoughtful look.

"Yeah," Hikaru continued. "I've read that the Yami Forest has many surprises in it, especially after dark.

"I don't like surprises very much so I'd rather go back before Oji-san figures out were gone…" He took a few steps back and as he turned he saw the tealnet standing there.

"AAAAAH!" Hikaru yelped and tumbled to the ground. "How did you…?"

Masaki shook his head and wiggled his finger side to side in disapproval. "Sorry Hikaru, nya. We had a deal, I won, and now we go where _I_ wanna go."

"Do we have to?" The young Kagejin whined. He would really rather _not_ go where the tealnet wanted to go.

"Uhuh!" Masaki nodded. "Now c'mon!" He extended his tail to pull the purple haired boy up before pushing him towards the entrance of the creepy woods.

Hikaru gulped. "Oi..."

* * *

The two of them had been walking for quite some time and in every given moment; Hikaru would yelp and scream about one thing or the other, much to Masaki's annoyance.

"AH! What's that!?"

"A stick,"

"AH! What's that!?"

"A leaf,"

"AH! What're those!?"

"Rocks,"

"AH! What's that!?"

"That's a tree,"

"AH! WHAT'S THAT!?"

" _That's_ another tree,"

"OH MY GOSH! Masaki-kun! What. Is. _THAT_!?"

" _That_ is the _same_ stick FROM _BEFORE_!"

"SO IT FOLLOWED US!?"

"NO IT DIDN'T _FOLLOW_ US! SINCE YOU'VE BEEN SCREAMING EVER TWO SECONDS, I COULDN'T CONCENTRATE – SO WE'VE BEEN WALKING IN CIRCLES!" The tealnet was now hovering over the terrified violet haired male with an angry scowl on his face. Hikaru went silent after that and looked away. Masaki exhaled through his nostrils.

"Seriously…" he gave the other a stern look, "would it kill ya to not get freaked out all the time?"

Hikaru brought his knees to his chest and looked at the other's sandals. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"You just what?" Masaki asked impatiently while folding his arms. Though he softened up when he saw the younger Kageyama's glassy eyes. The tealnet expected him to burst into tears, whining about how he wanted to go home and all that but he didn't. He just stared at the stick that was supposedly following them.

Masaki began to wonder if Kagejin could even cry. All creatures can cry right? Right? He got a familiar feeling in his chest. The same feeling he had when he exposed Hikaru's clumsiness to his uncle. It was guilt. Even if it was two days ago, Masaki could still remember Hikaru's pained expression of being betrayed. But then, he was quick to save the tealnet from being crushed by that giant wooden post.

The fact that Hikaru lost to him at Rock Paper Scissors meant that he could take him to the Yami Forest regardless of how he felt about it. But now that they were here, in the middle of the darkest woods in Kyoto, he began to regret everything. Even so they had to get out of the woods and they can't do that if they didn't work together.

"Hikaru-kun?"

Hikaru looked up at him as the other sat down crossed-legged. "Listen, I know you're scared and that's partly my fault…"

The purple haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"Okay! Okay! It's entirely my fault," Masaki continued. "I…I shouldn't have forced you to come out to the forest with me, it was wrong and I'm…I'm…" he sighed and looked the other in the eye.

" _I'm sorry_ …"

Hikaru smiled at his words and lifted himself up. He extended a hand and lifted his comrade as well, the two shaking his hands in the process.

"But you're still a chicken,"

Hikaru pouted which caused Masaki to chuckle. He playfully punched Hikaru's shoulder, making the other to smile again. They were off again and this time Hikaru wasn't freaking out as much. Even so, in one of the distant trees, an owl was watching them. This owl smirked maliciously, keeping his emerald eyes on the purple haired boy as he walked slightly behind the tealnet.

"So that stupid nekomada brat Kariya is back here and he's got a young Kagejin with him too!" He said as he spread his wings. "I better tell the boss and the others! We're about to get a lot of money," and with that in mind, it flew off deeper into the forest.

* * *

Masaki and Hikaru were walking for at least two hours now and Hikaru's feet where beginning to get sore. Still he didn't stop; he continued to follow the tealnet because he believed he knew what he was doing. Masaki on the other hand, was sweating bullets. He was perfectly sure now that they took a wrong turn an hour ago and wasn't exactly sure if they were going the right way. But he couldn't let poor Hikaru know that! He had to act like he had everything under control. Yeah, everything would be fine.

That was before they walked into a dead end.

Masaki sweatdropped. Okay, so everything wouldn't be fine.

"Masaki-kun?"

"Yes Hikaru-kun?"

"Are we lost?"

" _No_ …"

.

.

.

"…Okay, yeah were lost…"

" _Ugh kii_ …"

"I'm sorry! I thought I knew where we were going!" Masaki protested. Hikaru crossed his arms.

"If we were lost why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

Masaki sighed. "Because I didn't want you to panic and now look what I've done! You're face is literally engulfed in terror!"

"Actually I'm fine-"

"-Of what's going to happen to us because we don't have a single clue of where the hell we are and it's just so overwhelming for you since you thought you knew where the hell you were but now that we've run into a dead end and you think we're goners and…"

As the tealnet was having a serious mental breakdown, Hikaru found it rather strange to see his partner in a state of panic and chuckled inwardly to himself as he couldn't tell if Masaki was addressing him or was just speaking in the second person. While trying to calm his feline friend down, Hikaru's senses itched. He felt the presence of other shadows creeping up on them.

It was an ability that all kagejin possessed.

He turned away from Kariya for just a moment and that was enough for the violet haired male to jump back in fright at the four figures standing before him.

"Well, well, well…"

Kariya instantly stopped his panicking when he heard that familiar voice. As he turned his head, he wasn't surprised to see three large figures towering over them along with one flying above. He flinched and gritted his teeth.

' _This is bad,'_

"…Look who it is," a tall and broad Cyclops smirked sadistically as he stared down at the teens. Alongside him, were an Umbrella yokai, a Frog yokai and a creepy owl yokai hovering over them. "If it isn't Kariya the cat brat!"

"Raiki, long time no see," Masaki hissed through his fangs. The Cyclops grew irritated, "That's Raiki-san to you, brat! Didn't that girly ass nekomada teach you any manners?"

Masaki's eyes sharpened at the insult to Ryuuji, but kept his cool, "He did, I just don't feel the need to give you any respect you one-eyed fat-ass!"

* * *

Ryuuji lounged on the couch while reading a mystery novel. His tail swished back and forth as he turned the pages every once in a while. He then paused and sat up straight before sneezing.

"Achooo!" he went. He rubbed his nose with his index finger, a slightly irritated look on his face. "Great, someone's talking about me…"

He sighed before turning his head to the window. The crescent moon hung in the sky. He frowned.

"Why am I suddenly getting a bad feeling?"

* * *

"What did you say to our boss!?" The umbrella stepped up.

"We'll kill you, ribit!" The giant frog said.

As they slowly walked closer, they were stopped by their leader. "Sukima, Munu, stay down." He ordered. He then turned back to Masaki who was standing his ground best he could though anyone could tell he was scared for his life! His eye turned to the purple haired male quivering beside the cat boy.

Fear was written on his face completely. When Masaki noticed where Raiki was looking, he quickly moved in front of Hikaru.

"Don't even think about doing anything to him!" The tealnet yelled.

"I'm surprised you've got a kagejin by your side! There one of the most powerful and feared of yokai but it seems this one is still young and scared," Raiki came closer and Masaki and Hikaru stepped back.

"And look at that he has an amethyst on his forehead too! That makes him extremely rare, perfect for selling don't you think boys?"

The other gang yokai agreed. The Cyclops turned to the owl perched on a branch just above them.

"Good job Zorakuno, you really hit the jackpot! Were gonna get a lot of money from this kid,"

"No problem boss," The owl, Zorakuno replied darkly.

Hikaru flinched when he heard the words that were just exchanged. They wanted to sell him? What would happen to him afterwards? He completely regretted coming into the Yami Forest now. He was so scared he wanted to cry. His legs became numb and he couldn't move.

"Now," Hikaru shrieked at Raiki's voice, "We'll be taking the kagejin brat thank you very much!"

"You're not taking him anywhere!" Masaki yelled and brought out his claws. He turned to Hikaru who was completely pale.

"Listen to me Hikaru-kun, it's my fault that we got into this mess and I'm sorry but I'm not gonna let them hurt you okay! I'm gonna fight them off the best I can while you make an escape!"

"What!? I can't just leave you here!"

The tealnet turned away from him, "Don't worry about me Hikaru-kun. I'll be fine but you have to go. I just can't lose you, okay? You're…you're the only friend I've ever had and you're important to me," Masaki turned around with the kindest look Hikaru had ever seen in his life. "You saved my life Hikaru, so I'm returning the favor. I'm going to fight now okay, so get out of here or you'll get yourself hurt."

And with that Masaki directed himself to the gang yokai, a determined look on his face before he ran towards them and began to attack.

Hikaru watched Masaki with widened eyes. He couldn't believe what the nekomada had just told him. Did he really care about him that much that he'd fight to protect him? Hikaru just stared at him before turning to run away but then he stopped and looked back when he heard a painful scream.

"Masaki!" Hikaru shouted as he watched the tealnet cough an unhealthy amount of blood on the ground.

He was then picked up by the frog yokai, Munu and slammed against a tree and then another one and then another one.

Raiki took him and began brutally punching him before throwing his on the ground where he was kicked between them.

When the beaten tealnet attempted to get up his head was kept on the ground by the owl. He kept pushing down his face until he screamed. He was then kicked back to their leader who chuckled darkly.

At the sight of his partner's injured state, Hikaru's body froze. His dark sparkly eyes widened in his shock as he could only stare at the tealnet. A large clawed hand roughly picked Masaki up as the rest of his body dangled loosely. Raiki smirked maliciously as he brought Masaki to his face.

"Heheheheheh, looks like the little kitty finally shut up, huh?" he chuckled, "I can't wait to strip him cold and hang him on my wall! Gyahahahahahahahaha!" The one-eyed yokai and his gang chortled loudly.

Something broke inside the violet haired boy and he lost himself.

A shadow was casted over his eyes. The kagejin's hand slowly curled into a tight fist and his teeth gritted. A dark, ominous aura enveloped his entire body as he walked closer to the yokai.

"Get your _fucking_ hands off of him!" The boy spoke in an unfamiliar tone. It was dark and murderous, like how most kagejin spoke.

They all stopped laughing when they heard the command and felt the dangerous presence. They turned to see the violet haired male, except he wasn't how he was before, now he had a shaded face. The ends of the spikes in his hair had sharpened and his nails were replaced with claws. His teeth were now fangs and his soft eyes were now sharp and a terrifying purple. Horns stuck out of the sides of his head too.

The amethyst on his forehead glowed brightly as he grew closer to the gang.

"What the hell!? He was just scared a moment ago! Why is he suddenly like this?" Sukima panicked as he backed away from the shadow creature.

"I don't know ribit!" Munu also panicked.

"He's really scary now!" Zorakuno frightfully flew behind them.

Raiki got a nervous sweat as he stared at the drastically changed boy. He then stared at Masaki who was still unconscious before looking back at the angered kagejin.

"It's because we beat the living daylights out of the cat brat!" he said as he also stepped back.

Hikaru growled like a hungry beast, "Are you fucking deaf?" he asked in a low voice, "I said get your fucking hands off of him, you piece of shits!"

Raiki flinched and quickly threw Masaki to the ground. The violet haired male walked up to Kariya and picked him off the ground and walked to a nearby tree before placing him there. The tealnet slowly opened his golden and the met Hikaru black ones.

"Hi...karu," Masaki managed to get out.

"Don't worry," Hikaru said, "I'll take care of those fucking bastards so we can go home." He then walked back to Raiki and his gang, this time faster.

"Listen we're…we're sorry!" Raiki tried to say but Hikaru wasn't listening.

He stopped when he was five feet away from them. He then gave them an evil smirk before raising his right hand and slowly closing it. As he did, the shadow of Munu arm bent the other way causing his own arm to do the same.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! MY ARM RIPIT!" He screamed as he held his broken arm. Hikaru lifted his left hand curled his fingers.

The shadow of the umbrella's leg snapped and just like Munu, his leg broke.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Hikaru wasn't finished as he lifted his both his hands curled them both. As a result Zorakuno's right wing was now broken and the owl fell to the ground.

Raiki watched in horror as his friends were being tortured by the beast. He slowly turned his head to the young kagejin who was now only inches away from him. Before he could even blink, Hikaru took a hold of his right arm (the one he used to punch Masaki with) and throw him on the ground. He then took it again and began twisting it until he could hear the bones snapping.

Raiki screamed in pain before he was violently tossed to the rest of his injured gang, knocking into them. Hikaru turned and walked to them again.

"Please no more! No more! We'll never do anything to anyone ever again! Please have mercy on us!" Hikaru stopped stared at them before slowly returning back into his previous form. He then collapsed into a pair of open arms.

"Winner takes all, I believe?"

The gang yokai looked up to see a familiar green haired nekomada. They flinched at his cold stare. Midorikawa looked down at Hikaru who was now unconscious and smiled warmly.

"So this is Reiji-san's nephew, huh?" Midorikawa said, "To think such an innocent boy could do so much damage." He dark eyes returned to the gang yokai and then he growled.

"You guys are still causing trouble?" Midorikawa hissed.

"W-we c-can e-explain-"

"Get lost!" The greenet commanded harshly. They all quickly picked themselves up and got away the best they could.

He sighed before turning to Masaki who had woken up a while back. His eyes were still widened at the way the violet haired male was just a few moments ago. Was that really Kageyama Hikaru?

"Masaki,"

Kariya flinched at the tone his first name was called and nervously turned to his older brother.

"Hey Nii-san! How are you do-"

"Shut up."

"Hai."

* * *

One of the servants laid Hikaru down on his bed and covered him. He then bowed to Kageyama and walked out. Masaki was still shocked at the fact that there were live-in servants here. He sighed and looked at Hikaru who was fast asleep. He remembered how Ryuuji made him apologize for dragging Hikaru into the Yami Forest when they were supposed to be sleeping.

It was already ten thirty-seven; they had been up almost the whole night. He explained to Hikaru's uncle that after he was beaten to a pulp, Hikaru went all beasty and took out all four of those goons on his own.

" _His hidden power was activated," Kageyama said._

" _Hidden power?"_

" _Hai," he began. "You already know that Hikaru's not like any kagejin we've seen. He's different in almost every single way but he has a hidden power that activates when those he cares about are in danger. Sometimes if you make him angry enough it'll activate too. He then obtains an incredible power of twenty thousand kagejin combined. In that state both his personality and appearance becomes terrifying and he shows no mercy to his attackers. But he because his own body cannot withstand such power he always collapses afterwards._

" _This is why he needs to be trained so he can access this power anytime and be able to hold out longer without losing consciousness," he concluded._

" _Whoa," Masaki could only say._

" _With that said," Kageyama looked down at Masaki, "I suggest you don't try and anger him for the fun of it."_

Masaki flinched. Funny enough, that was exactly what he was thinking at the time.

"Kariya, I suggest you get some sleep if you want to be fresh for tomorrow," Kageyama said. Oh, he forgot he was still in the room.

"Yes sir," Masaki said walking towards his bed. It was a good thing Midorikawa had given him healing medicine before he left. He also scolded and pulled his ear. It still hurt but he could sleep. Kageyama took one more look at his nephew before walking towards the door.

As he did, Kariya suddenly felt the need to ask, "Kageyama-san?"

"What is it?"

"Can I ask what our training will be like?"

"Why do you ask?" Reiji replied.

"I guess being a nekomada, I have to be curious," Masaki smiled and shrugged.

The older Kageyama snorted at the tealnet reference to the famous saying. He turned around before responding. "Let's just say, it'll be a long journey."

Kariya adopted a puzzled look, "You mean that metaphorically, right?"

Reiji walked out of the room without answering the tealnet. At that moment, Masaki got a bad feeling and it stayed there for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Dammit! That Kagejin brat was strong!" Raiki groaned as he held his broken arm.

"Yeah! He did a total one-eighty man!" Sukima said. "I could've sworn he was nothin' but a scaredy-cat before!"

"Tch! That little shit-stain Kariya's gonna get it next time," Zorakuno cursed.

"Yeah ribit!" Munu agreed.

A light chuckle froze their conversation. "You already plan to return to fight when your injuries haven't fully healed yet? How reckless, no wonder you lost to mere children."

The gang Yokai looked around, trying to search for the source of the soft, echoing voice. "Who said that? Come out and say that to my face!" Raiki fumed.

Suddenly the area was filled with a heavy mist which was too thick to see through.

"Hey…!" Sukima panicked, "…W-what's goin' on? Where'd this mist come from?"

"Hey, my arm's better, ribit!" Munu exclaimed with surprise.

"My wing's alright too!" Zorakuno cheered.

"My leg's as good as new!" Sukima speculated. The mist slowly began to disappear until the umbrella yokai was finally able to see his Boss again.

"Hey Boss! Look, your arm's better too!" The Cyclops' eye widened at the sight of his previously broken arm appearing and moving like it wasn't snapped in two at all.

"How…" He looked up to see a cloaked figure, levitating in the air. The person's azure stare and light smirk could easily be seen under the purple hood but that was all Raiki and his gang saw before the mysterious person was enveloped in the same heavy mist and was gone soon after.

* * *

 _ **= End of Arc 1 =**_

* * *

 **Glossary:**

 **Yami Forest –** _Dark Forest_ – the dark and confusing home of many different types of yokai creatures. Humans are known for getting lost in this place.

 **Yami –** Darkness

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Wow I haven't done a glossary in like, two chapters. Anyway, now that all the intro and filler chapters are out of the way, I can finally start getting serious – which means that Hikaru and Kariya start their training soon. What do you think will happen? And what does Kageyama have planned for the young kagejin and nekomada?**

 **Several new characters are coming in after this~!**

 **Next Arc: **_Power and Magic_

 **Please Review!**

 **~Mizuki Kokoa**


	6. Training Begins - Somewhere Else?

**A/N:**

 **Alright people! This is Arc 2! Now, I know I said they begin their training in this chapter but well…that's technically not true. They actually begin in Chapter 10, I promise! This Arc will be a span of 11 chapters at most.**

 **Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

 _ **= Power and Magic Arc =**_

– **| Chapter 6: Training Begins…Somewhere Else!? |–**

* * *

– _**Sunday Night –**_

"So which one of us is training them first, Boss?" A teal-eyed brunet – his hair tied in a low ponytail – asked while rocking on his metal chair. He winced when one of his wolf ears were viciously pulled on.

"Ow!" He cried.

"I thought we told you to stop rocking on your chair after you broke the last five!" A cyan haired male with an eye-patch over his right eye scolded the brunet.

"You're not the boss of me eye-patch freak!" The ponytailed male yelled.

"I don't have to be, Fudou! I'm just implementing what's right!" He yelled back.

"Pfft! Yeah right! Don't make me laugh Sakuma!"

"Will the both of you shut up?" A spiky haired brunet with thick orange lines coming from the bottom of his eyes to the sides of his chin told the bickering males off.

They both looked at each other before turning away and folding their arms.

"Thank you Genda," Kageyama a.k.a the Boss said in which the tall brunet nodded his head. The elderly man soon began to address Fudou's earlier question.

"As you all know, my nephew is going to undergo training to become stronger and hopefully unlock his inner kagejin. To allow this, he must be trained in four different categories; Power and Magic, Transformation, Transportation and Foresight. Each category will have a specific mentor – that's where you four come in," as he said that Fudou raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, us four? But there are only three of us here," He said in confusion.

" _Seriously?_ " An irritated voice made itself known to the rest. They all turn their attention to a man with chestnut dreadlocks and white round framed glasses with green lens though in his irritation his sharp crimson eyes could faintly be seen along with a twitching eyebrow.

"Whoa Kidou-kun," Fudou said surprised, "When did you get here?"

"Fudou he's been sitting with us the entire time," Sakuma told him.

"Really?"

"We had lunch together,"

"I remember the lunch…"

"We all came in the same limousine,"

"We did?"

"You two sat next to each other!" Sakuma pressed on.

"Ya sure?" Fudou seemed even more confused.

"You are _literally_ sitting across from each other!" The cyan haired male yelled.

"Yet I never noticed him," Fudou said.

"You made fun of his glasses when we picked him up," Genda deadpanned.

" _Oh yeah,_ " Fudou perked up. "Now I remember, sorry 'bout that Kidou-kun, my bad."

Kidou rubbed the bridge of his nose while mumbling incoherent words. He then took a deep breath before breathing out. He soon adopted a poker face, looking like he wasn't irritated a few moments ago.

"Anyway, what training category will each of us be assigned too?" He asked calmly. They all turned their attention to the old kagejin.

"I'm so glad you asked Kidou," Kageyama said before smirking widely.

* * *

– _**Monday Morning –**_

Masaki woke up to the sound of a door creaking. He stirred in bed before sitting up and scanning the room. His golden eyes landed on a slim figure, though thanks to him being nocturnal he was able to identify this person through the darkness as Hikaru.

"Hikaru-kun?" Masaki rubbed his eyes and said in a sleepy voice.

"Oh sorry, did I wake you up?" Hikaru replied sheepishly.

"Kinda but don't worry about it, nya," the nekomada waved him off before looking towards the window, "What time is it?"

"Four o'clock," Hikaru said before closing the bathroom door properly. He strolled back to his bed before climbing into it. Then he just laid down his head and stared blankly at the white ceiling.

"What? How the hell did I wake up this early?" Masaki snorted before lying down back on his own bed.

Hikaru chuckled, "The only explanation I can think of is that you had trouble sleeping maybe."

Masaki thought about it for a bit, "Well you might be right about that."

There was a pause.

"Is something bothering you Masaki-kun?" Hikaru asked as he turned his head to the other. For some reason Masaki flinched at the question, he didn't understand why he felt anxious all of a sudden but then it hit him like a large fish to the face.

He sat up again, "Hikaru do you remember what happen yesterday," he bit his lip, "After seven."

The violet haired teen looked away for a moment and his eyes locked on the ceiling again. He searched his memories before looking back at the tealnet, "Sorry I don't recall anything after we ate dinner."

"You don't!?" Kariya said surprised. Did he really not remember?

"Well…I remember you asking me to go somewhere with you, we played Rock-Paper-Scissors for it, I lost and then we went outside and…" Hikaru held his head as he tried to remember more, "…there was a stick that was following us-"

"It wasn't following us," The tealnet sweatdropped.

"-and then there was this scary yokai gang and they, they…they…" Hikaru suddenly shot up and before he leaped unto Masaki's bed and began shaking him. "Are you okay? You were badly beaten yesterday right? I can't remember everything but I remember they really hurt you and you were coughing out blood too! Please tell me you're okay!" Hikaru dark eyes had nothing but worry in them as he stared into Masaki's startled golden ones.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! My Nii-san gave me healing medicine," Kariya said.

"And he took care of the yokai gang?" Hikaru pressed on.

"No, he-" Masaki paused. ' _Wait a second…Hikaru doesn't remember that he was the one who fought those guys? Is this what happens every time he uses his hidden power? Should I tell him then?'_ Kariya thought before turning back to the other.

"Uh…yes! He took care of them and brought us both home and of course I was yelled at," Masaki added.

"You kinda deserve it but I'm glad you're okay," Hikaru smiled softly before adding; "I hate to have lost my partner."

"I'm sure you could always find another partner," The teal haired male pretended not to care about the comment.

"That's not true! And even if it was I'd only want you as my partner since were friends too!" Hikaru chimed. "We are friends right?"

Masaki was quiet for a while before replying, "Yeah…" his face was completely red when he admitted that. Gosh, friends stuff was always so mushy and junk.

"Yay!" Hikaru cheered before going back to his bed, and as he was about to cover himself, the teal haired teen spoke. "Hey Hikaru-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what day it is today?" The cat boy asked completely back to his normal self.

"Monday I believe," Hikaru thought.

"Aren't we supposed to start our training today?"

"That's correct,"

"I wonder what training Ossan has in store for us?"

"Please never call him that to his face," Hikaru sweatdropped.

"Hey do you know if he has some kind of special training ground?" Masaki asked another question completely ignoring what the violet haired boy said.

"I'm not sure," Hikaru said.

"Oh well," the young nekomada returned to his slumber much to Hikaru's surprise.

"Masaki-kun? Are you asleep?" No reply. Hikaru sighed and then he yawned. He decided to get some more sleep himself.

* * *

– _**One hour later –**_

Outside the doors of the young Kageyama's room stood a slender young male. He possessed neat lavender hair and wore thin-framed spectacles over his taupe colored eyes. He wore a tight black suit and tie over a long-sleeved purple shirt.

His expression remained blank as several number codes appeared on the lens of his glasses. He eyes scanned them attentively as another figure walked up behind him.

"Are you ready to wake them up?" the figure, who was also a male, asked. The lavender haired boy nodded.

"Well then," the second boy said, "I'll meet you outside with the young masters," with that, he walked away.

"Hai," the bespectacled teen replied. He lifted up his right arm as it slowly transformed into a clean and silver machine gun. He then knelt down and focused it on the doors. On the lens of his glasses the percentage of the gun's charging was almost complete.

"Charging at 100%." he said robotically, "Ready fire." A bright blue beam blasted out of the gun and quickly came in contact with the doors of Hikaru's bedroom.

On the other side, Hikaru senses itched. He stared at his doors before jumping out of his bed again and grabbing Masaki out of his own.

"What the hell-" before the tealnet could even finish the violet haired male screamed, "DUCK!" He then went on the ground with him and covered his head as a blue beam flew over them and blasted a hole through the wall.

Masaki had lost all his color when the two stood up again and was shaking for his life.

"W-w-what…what was that!?" He managed to ask. Hikaru peered through the smoke to see his bedroom doors destroyed and the silhouette of a person who looked around the age of fourteen years old.

When the smoke finally cleared, a boy with lavender hair and bangs that crossed each other wearing a black suit stood in the middle of the hallway completely motionless.

"Who the hell are you!?" Masaki pointed at the stranger. The male walked inside making the tealnet flinch and hide behind Hikaru. As he grew closer, he stopped and stared straight into the violet haired teen's eyes.

"Kageyama Hikaru," he said in a monotone voice.

Hikaru flinched, "How do you-"

"I have to know," he interrupted him, "it is in my programming to know your identity and of course that of your partner, Kariya Masaki as well."

Kariya then peeks out from behind Hikaru with a raised eyebrow, "Me?"

"Affirmative."

"Oh…well, can I ask who you are?" The violet haired male said nervously.

"I am MAIUnit12. I am a highly advanced artificial intelligence that was constructed in Lerner Corporation approximately 14 years, 175 months, 826 weeks, 5110 days, 127750 hours, 7 665 000 000 minutes and 459 900 000 000 seconds ago," He said causing the other two to stare at him strangely. He seemed to notice and adopted a more human expression. "Um…you may refer to me as Manabe Jinichirou."

Masaki moved away from Hikaru and began to study the android, "Don't mind me, I just want to try something real quick." He then punched the lavender haired male in his midsection. As his hand made contact, they were met with titanium causing him to wince in pain.

"Yup you're definitely a robot," He said cradling his now swollen hand. Hikaru sweatdropped and shook his head slowly. Manabe narrowed his eyes and frowned, "Android." He corrected.

"Whatever," the tealnet muttered. Manabe sighed before turning to other male, "Kageyama Hikaru, I have been requested to wake you up and make sure you get ready for your training," he turned back to Masaki, "You as well."

"If you were just supposed to wake us up, then why'd ya blow down the freakin' doors, nya?" Masaki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Apologies, I was following Master Kageyama's orders," The android replied.

"He seriously ordered you ta do that!?"

"Oji-san said so?" Hikaru asked, rather confused. Manabe nodded. "Affirmative, though it seems that I have wasted time acquainting with you. I am afraid you now only have 5 minutes and 33 seconds to prepare yourself."

"Five minutes!?" The kagejin exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"5 minutes and 32 seconds now," Manabe said. "5 minutes and 31 seconds, 5 minutes and 30 seconds, 5 minutes and 29 seconds, 5 minutes and 28 seconds, 5 minutes and 27…"

As he continued counting, Hikaru frantically ran to the bathroom while Masaki went to his side of the cupboard and brought his own clothes. He wasn't going to bother showering seeing as he hated baths. Hikaru ran out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and grabbed clothes from his draws.

"You will also need your luggage," Manabe paused his counting to say. Hikaru frenetically stopped. "Huh? Why?"

"An order from Kageyama-sama,"

"Um…okay!"

He quickly put his chosen clothes on before grabbing his luggage and running outside his bedroom (nearly tripping over the broken doors along the way). He stopped and looked back at Masaki who was crawling back into his bed, much to Hikaru's annoyance.

"Masaki-kun, we need to go!" Hikaru shouted at him.

"But I wanna sleep…" He groaned causing a sigh from the other teen. He turned to Manabe who continued his count down.

"2 minutes and 12 seconds, 2 minutes and 11 seconds, 2 minutes and 10 seconds-"

"Manabe-san! Can you help get Masaki-kun please?" Hikaru requested. Manabe turned to the tealnet, "Affirmative." He lifted his arm up and began to extend it towards the queen-sized bed before yanking the tealnet off and pulling him. Kariya yelped as Manabe tossed him over his shoulder before grabbing his luggage and turning to Hikaru.

"Shall we go? You only have 1 minute and 45 seconds remaining," Manabe said, "1 minute and 44 seconds, 1 minute and 43-"

"I think we get it," Masaki moaned.

"Let's go," Hikaru said.

* * *

The three teens quickly arrived outside and Manabe finally put the nekomada down on his feet. When he did, Masaki and Hikaru were surprised to find a black car outside the doors of his uncle's mansion. Standing a few feet away from the vehicle was Midorikawa and Reiji. The two instantly ran to their relatives with Manabe close behind, carrying their baggage.

"Oji-san!" Hikaru called out to his uncle the same time Masaki called, "Nii-san!" to Midorikawa.

"Ah, so you two finally decided to get up?" Reiji said, though it came out more as a statement than a question. Hikaru bowed his head deeply.

"Sorry Oji-san!" He apologized, "We were getting acquainted with Manabe-san and lost track of time."

"But we're here now so…" Masaki began curiously. "Why are you here, Nii-san?"

Midorikawa gave him a casual smile as he answered, "Well I wanted to see you off obviously."

Kariya cocked an eyebrow. "See me off? Why? I'm not going anywhe-" he paused once he remembered the last thing the older Kageyama had told him before he left the room last night.

 _Kageyama took one more look at his nephew before walking towards the door._

 _As he did, Kariya suddenly felt the need to ask, "Kageyama-san?"_

" _What is it?"_

" _What will our training be like?"_

" _Why do you ask?" Reiji replied._

" _I guess being a nekomada, I have to be curious," Masaki smiled and shrugged._

 _The older Kageyama snorted at the tealnet reference to the famous saying. He turned around before responding. "Let's just say, it'll be a long journey."_

 _Kariya adopted a puzzled look, "You mean that metaphorically, right?"_

 _Reiji walked out of the room without answering the tealnet._

So when he said that, he actually meant…

Reiji smirked when realization finally dawned over the cat boy. Hikaru looked at his partner in pure confusion. He tilted his head as he asked what the matter was.

"Nothing," The tealnet replied shaking his head. This made Hikaru even more confused. He turned to his uncle.

"Oji-san, why did you ask us to pack our bags?" Hikaru asked, referring to Manabe's earlier instruction from the old man.

Reiji smirked, "Well that's simple. You'll be travelling around a lot from now on."

There was a pause.

.

.

.

.

.

"EHHHH?" Hikaru screamed. "What do you mean will be travelling a lot from now on? You're not making any sense, Oji-san!"

Ryuuji chuckled, "You were right about him being an odd one, Reiji-san. He's not like any Kagejin I've ever seen," the greenet turned to his brother who had somewhat of a scowl on his face, "I hope you take good care of him, Masaki."

"Yeah whatever," the tealnet muttered. Ryuuji's eyes sharpened even more. "I mean it, look out for him!" he threatened, making Masaki shake with fear.

"Yes, right, I'll look out for him, promise..!"

The feminine nekomada returned his kinder state and smiled sweetly. "That's good," he ruffled Masaki's ears causing a quiet purr to escape his lips. "You too Hikaru, after all you're partners and you have to look out for one another."

"Ah…right," the violet haired male nodded. He then stared at Masaki who was lost in his older brother's ear rubbing. Was that his weakness? Getting rubbed behind the ear?

"Hikaru, Kariya. Listen up," Reiji got their attention. "You two are here to be trained under me but what you don't know is I won't be directly training you, at least not yet."

Hikaru's eyes widened, "Wait! What?"

"Why?" Kariya asked.

"Unfortunately, you two aren't strong enough to endure my training," Reiji explained. "So until you are, you'll be trained by four other people who will be you're mentors. When you've completed your training with a specific mentor, you then have to battle against them to move on to the next one."

The partners looked at each other before looking back at the older male, "Okay," they both responded with understanding.

Reiji nodded and then turned to his nephew, "Hikaru. This training is especially important for you. As you are a kagejin, your powers are almost limitless but you need to build your strength physically, mentally, and spiritually or else you can never truly call yourself one."

The violet haired male gulped. Kariya asked a question, "What're our mentors gonna be training us in?"

"I'm so glad you asked, Otouto," Midorikawa replied, "But unfortunately you're going to have to find out on your own."

"Oh come on! Just tell us already!" The tealnet protested, but his older brother just shook his head.

"I hate you," Masaki grumbled and the greenet just gave a pat on the shoulder.

Hikaru chuckled a little before his uncle whispered something to him, "Hikaru, watch out for Masaki, alright. Believe it or not just like you he holds great power."

"Yes Oji-san," The teen nodded.

"Good," Reiji said, "Manabe!"

Said android quickly came over when the old man had summoned him. He looked up with his robotic expression, "Yes Kageyama-sama?"

"Put their bags in the car and call Miyabino," Reiji ordered, "And then get the car started. They'll be leaving soon."

"Right away sir," The lavender haired A.I. went to the car as ordered. Hikaru and Masaki were a little lost on what was going on now and who was Miyabino?

Not too long after, someone walked back to the four but as expected, it wasn't the android teenager. Instead, wearing a tailed black suit, a red long sleeved button shirt and a grey tie inside and a pair of white gloves was a young male who was about the same age as the partners. Though while most of him looked normal, there was something unique and rather peculiar about the boy. In his hands was what should be on his shoulders but instead there was a lime green flame flowing out of where his neck was supposed to be.

Masaki and Hikaru stared at the boy with complete awe. They had never seen such a specimen but Hikaru had without a doubt read about something like him.

"Good morning, Kageyama-sama, Midorikawa-sama and Kariya-sama," The teen whose detached head, had grey hair that had upward spikes and pair of onyx eyes, smiled as he greeted the four from his place in his hands.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?" Masaki panicked at the sight of the boy as his mind couldn't process what was going. He quickly hid behind Hikaru who just stared at the male with curiosity.

The grey haired boy chuckled before replying, "My name is Miyabino Reiichi, from this day forth I'm going to be your faithful butler and bodyguard," He bowed slightly and then stood up remembering the tealnet's real question, "Oh, and I'm a Dullahan."

"A what now?" Masaki asked. Hikaru repeated, "A Dullahan. A yokai whose head is separate from their body as you can see for yourself."

"But…why?" Masaki asked slightly confused.

Miyabino answered this time, "Well people think it's because of some weird mutation, though no one's sure."

"What about the flame?"

"Would you rather see what's inside me through this hole?" the grey haired boy asked gesturing to his flame with one hand while holding his head tightly in the other.

"No!" The young nekomada squeaked and Midorikawa and Hikaru chuckled. Miyabino smiled brightly and brought his other arm back to hold his head again.

"Wait, are you seriously gonna be our butler and bodyguard?" Masaki asked again.

"Yes,"

"Interesting…" Was the tealnet's quiet reply. Hikaru slanted his eyelids suspiciously at his partner. _'He's definitely plotting something.'_

"It's time for you both to go," Reiji announced. Hikaru and Masaki turned to him, "Remember to train hard and listen to your mentors. Manabe will drive you anywhere you want and Miyabino will take care of you so the both of you better do your part. Understand?"

"Understood," they reply together.

He smiled slightly before turning to Midorikawa, "Anything you want to say Ryuuji?"

"Yes," the greenet moved closer to the boys and placed a hand one of their shoulders, "Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan." He smiled at both of them, "Don't give up, fight hard and most importantly take care of each other." He planted a kiss on Masaki's head and ruffled Hikaru's hair.

Masaki's face went beat red, "NYA! Aniki! How many times have I told you to not kiss me like that, and in front of people? It's _so_ embarrassing!"

Ryuuji giggled softly. Miyabino walked up to the partners, "Shall I walk you both to the car?" he offered. They smiled and began walking with the young Dullahan. But then they stopped and turned around to their guardians, "Bye." They said before they carried on walking.

Midorikawa and Kageyama watched as their brother and nephew respectively, went inside the black limousine. They looked at each other and then back at the car as it slowly reversed out of the gates and unto the road, before driving off.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," The green haired nekomada said, keeping his hands clasped together and close to his heart. It was sad to see his dear Masaki go but it was bound to happen eventually. He only hoped that he wouldn't do anything too reckless.

"Yes, they will," Reiji responded solemnly. Hikaru and his partner, Masaki were definitely in for a lot more than they were expecting.

* * *

From atop the Kageyama mansion was a familiar cloaked figure. He kept his azure eyes on the black vehicle as it drove off. He smiled before bringing out a blue stone. He whispered a few enchanted words and mist began to rise from the stone until it formed a foggy image. Once it was clear, the face of male with curly brown hair and brown eyes could be seen.

"Did you see them?" The brunet, Shindou asked.

"Yes, I did." The cloaked figure responded, "Apparently they won't be training under Kageyama himself but under four different mentors."

Shindou's eyes widened, "Is that so…do you know what training they'll be doing?"

The blue eyed figure shook their head, "No. Unfortunately, it wasn't said."

"I see," The brunet gained a thoughtful expression. "Well then, keep an eye on them. You might have to reveal yourself soon."

"I will," They nodded, "I'll be reporting later."

"Good. See you soon," Shindou replied and the mist faded. The person tucked the stone back into their purple cloak before standing up from where they were sitting and vanished in a cloud mist.

Meanwhile, Hikaru had decided to look out his window and stare at the scenery while Masaki had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Miyabino's body proceeded to covering the tealnet with a blanket and then giving a cup of tea to the violet haired teen.

"Thank you,"

"Not a problem," the grey haired male said from the cushion he was placed on while his body worked on some takoyaki.

Hikaru smiled as he knew the tealnet would be waking up to the smell soon. He then took a sip of his tea and returned his eyes to the window, deep in thought. They didn't know how things were going to be from here on out, but what they did know was that things were going to be interesting.

* * *

 **Glossary:**

 **Dullahan –** A yokai who's head is separate from their body. Instead of a neck, a flame is present. As one matures they are able to control the temperature of the flame and even reattached their head to their body.

 **Android** – an advanced robot that possesses a human appearance.

 **Takoyaki** – octopus dumplings and a famous Japanese dish, usually feasted at festivals.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **The first chapter of the second arc done! So a bunch of new characters where just introduced and yes I brought in Miyabino and Manabe because I love those two! Though Manabe is just their chauffeur, Miyabino is actually a main character and yes, I made Manabe an android. You're probably wondering if they're actually any humans in the story XD Well there are a few I guess…**

 **Why did I make Miyabino a Dullahan? Because I'm a fan of the anime** _Interviews with Monster Girls_ **and one of the main characters, Machi Kyouko is a Dullahan and I love her! What exactly does Ol' Kageyama have in store for our young trainees? You'll have to find out! Though I'd like to know you're thoughts!**

 **I am working on the artwork for the characters in this story. I finally know how to draw Hikaru and Kariya. I'll first take pictures of them drawn on paper then I'll scan them and add color so it can look professional~! I'll be posting them on Tumblr.**

 **Also check out my new story** _Playing The Fool_ **, which is about Inamori Asuto and what he'd be like if he were a dark character pretending to be what everyone sees him as.**

 **In the next chapter Hikaru's love interest shall be revealed! Can you guess who she is? Until next time!**

 **~ Mizuki Kokoa**


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